The Tung Lab is focused on the development of novel genomic technologies in the diagnosis of rare cancers and blood disorders. We study the roles of both somatic and germline genetic variants in various cancer predisposition syndromes, with a specific interest in hereditary hematological malignancies and inherited bone marrow failure syndromes. We are also interested in the development of novel diagnostic tools in pediatric cancers. Click here to learn about ongoing projects and how to get involved.

The Iowa-Undiagnosed Diseases Program is attempting to solve undiagnosed diseases by using orthogonal omics-based research tools. The Chandra lab is seeking a motivated undergraduate student wanting to be involved with clinical translational research. Click here to learn more.

Help evaluate one of three cutting-edge AI methods aimed at improving segmentation of pulmonary structures from 3D chest CT scans. Click to read more about the methods and how to get involved.

Duties vary but typically include assisting with running laboratory sessions, collecting EEG data (i.e., "brain waves") and performing data entry and quality control.

Students in this lab will have the opportunity to assist data collection in behavioral, sleep EEG or MRI experiments, organize and maintain databases, and aid in preprocessing of data. They may receive training on EEG and MRI data acquisition, sleep scoring, RedCap, and MRI safety. This is an attractive position for those who are interested in pursuing graduate careers in neuroscience, clinical or cognitive psychology in the future. There is opportunity to conduct honor theses if the student’s research interest aligns with the goals of our lab, and they demonstrate commitment and excellence.

The Boudreau Lab is working to discover new genes that regulate healthy heart functions. We are looking for energetic students who are interested in learning advanced techniques to help us with general lab duties.

Our laboratory studies interbacterial interactions among colonic commensals. Altered composition of the gut microbiome contributes to many disease states, and targeted manipulation holds therapeutic promise. The intestinal microbiome is a complex ecosystem where bacteria occupy overlapping niches. Bacteria contact one another, eliciting responses which may neutral, competitive, or collaborative. Bacteroidetes comprise one of the dominant phyla in the human gut microbiome and are known to compete with diverse species to colonize and persist in the intestine. As part of their fitness for the colonic environment, Bacteroidetes utilize a remarkable diversity of carbon sources, and some encode type VI secretion systems which deliver effectors (toxins) to kill contacting bacteria. Genomes of these Bacteroidetes also encode immunity proteins which prevent intoxication of self and kin.

For undergraduate students who are interested in experimental fluid dynamics, there are several on-going research projects including sustainable drag reduction and developing an in-house laser illumination system.

Students are expected to code/run deep learning algorithms to solve specific problems in biomedical imaging.

The Wahls Research lab is interested in the relationship between diet quality and clinical outcomes. Motor function is assessed using timed walk and hand function tests. Vision function, quality of life and blood biomarkers are also assessed. The study Efficacy of Diet on Quality of Life in Multiple Sclerosis is a five year study, completing in 2027.

Uterine endometrial cancer incidence (~65,950 new cases/year) and deaths (~12,550 deaths/year) are on the rise. To help endometrial cancer patients and cure endometrial cancer, we need understand the characteristics of this disease. The current focus of our work is to understand molecular mechanisms of endometrial tumor progression and utilize target therapy or molecular enhanced hormonal therapy to treat endometrial cancer and other hormone-driven cancers.

The NeuroBank Core Lab is seeking undergraduate students to support exciting research in spatial biology and human brain studies. This includes working with clinical specimens across various levels, from submolecular and cellular analysis to whole tissue and organ research. This position offers a great opportunity to deepen your understanding of scientific research and get involved in groundbreaking work to prepare your future medical or graduate schools.

We are looking for motivated students with a strong interest in research as a career, and eager to gain skills in molecular biology, fungal genetics and bioinformatic data analysis. Research projects in the lab span a wide range of topics but are mostly focused on understanding the evolution of stress response regulation in a group of yeast species. This group includes several opportunistic pathogens that based on our preliminary data have rewired their stress response networks.

Research projects in our lab aim to uncover the complex brain networks and signaling mechanisms that control metabolic homeostasis and sleep-wake behavior using mouse as a model organism. Students will first learn the state-of-the-art neuroscience techniques, including optogenetics, chemogenetics and in vivo fiber photometry, and then help different research projects led by postdocs and research scientists.

The Neiman lab uses a variety of conceptual approaches, tools, and methods to study various questions involving the evolution of sexual reproduction, often by studying a small New Zealand snail species that is a powerful model system for the study of sex. We also use the snails to address other topics, including the consequences of plastic pollution, effects of temperature change on learning and memory, and how nutrient availability might influence genome evolution. We also engage in science outreach activities around the Iowa City community. We don’t have a specific opening for specific project available right now, but curious, positive, and team-oriented students interested in any of these topics should reach out to Dr. Neiman to discuss potential opportunities. There are always ways for motivated and inquisitive undergraduates to contribute!

Our projects are captured by the question “How do the different kinds of cells work together in an epithelium to orchestrate ion transport?”. Duties include making solutions, help in preparing experiments, and mouse genotyping.

In this position students can learn new perspectives and consider the ways human rights might apply to their vocational interests, developing a critical proficiency in human rights in an increasingly complex and interconnected world. Our work on human rights is done through a holistic approach, incorporating insight from a plurality of disciplines. Students will be able to choose from several options, all of which will enable them to learn and conduct research on human rights.

The Developmental Psychopathology Lab conducts research to understand how children develop behavior problems as well as positive adjustment. We have been particularly interested in externalizing behavior problems, such as aggressive, disruptive, and noncompliant behavior. We focus on the development of self-regulation skills and the consequences of children’s self-regulation skills (or deficits) for their school readiness. The goal of our lab is to improve understanding about how children develop behavior problems from a very early age (3–7 years).

We study children’s social-emotional development from infancy to adolescence. Students in this lab have the opportunity to work on a longitudinal study to help collect data during laboratory sessions, code behavioral data from videos, and perform preliminary data management.

The research focuses on investigating the signaling mechanisms underlying the development of obesity and breast cancer. This project offers ample opportunities for undergraduate student involvement. Depending on their experience, students may assist with lab maintenance, support experimental procedures, and receive guidance in applying for the ICRU fellowship. With substantial contributions, students may also have the opportunity to co-author manuscripts.

Our research aims to identify the molecular components of integration between organelle stress responses that are in play in obesity and diabetes at the cellular organismic levels.

We are looking for undergraduates interested in neuroscience research investigating how the brain influences reward seeking and fear behaviors.

Our group is focused on understanding the molecular and circuit adaptations following alcohol abuse and chronic stress that predispose to psychiatric disorders, neurodegenerative disease and infectious disease.

The Chowdhury Lab is interested in understanding how ions and small molecules are transported across the oily cellular membranes. Such processes are not only critical for cellular survival, they underlie the electrical activity of neurons, cardiac myocytes etc. The lab specializes in membrane protein biochemistry and biophysics and uses multi-disciplinary approaches to determine atomic resolution snapshots of protein complexes, mediating these transport processes, at different stages of their function.

Research assistants will have the opportunity to assist with various lab procedures (e.g., collecting data during child lab visits, data management, and video coding of parent–child interactions). Students will also have the opportunity to gain experience in data collection and analysis in fNIRS and MRI experiments.

We are developing novel rare cancer models for drug testing and understanding tumor biology. We are recruiting students who would like to do research for the Undergrad Honor's Research course and seeking publication opportunity.

The focus of our lab is on pancreas cancer and microbiome drug metabolism. We are looking for an undergrad research assistant to help with the following tasks: 1) Culture cancer cells and perform drug testing 2) Prepare common solutions 3) Sterilization of research equipment 4) Manage biohazard waste 5) Stock up lab inventory

We are looking for enthusiastic and motivated undergraduate students who are interested in immunology and want to investigate intestinal mucosa in two disease models, namely graft-versus-host disease and inflammatory bowel disease.

Our research seeks to understand how lipotoxic lipid metabolites ceramides impair nutrient sensing and leads to the development of metabolic diseases. The students will have the opportunity to acquire multiple skills in bioinformatics, molecular, biochemical, and cellular assays as well as mouse handling (if comfortable) and be co-authors on scientific manuscripts.

Our lab is interesting in learning how changes in DNA accessibility (epigenetics) contribute to gene expression changes that drive cancer progression and resistance to therapy. The trainee will work closely with a research scientist and the principal investigator to learn and apply new techniques. There are opportunities for both wet-lab and bioinformatic research.

The project would be to establish a new assay in the laboratory. The trainee will work closely with a research scientist and PI in the lab and be involved in day-to-day lab operations.

We are interested in working with motivated undergraduate students who can spend time in the laboratory to learn intestinal immunology and advance their laboratory skills. Intestinal immune system is associated with regulation of aberrant immune reactions, as seen in graft-versus-host disease after bone marrow or hematopoietic cell transplantation or in inflammatory bowel diseases. Our studies focus on T lymphocytes and gut microorganisms, such as helminths or gut bacteria that can regulate these aberrant and pathological immune responses. Students will purify immune cells from spleen or lymph nodes, characterize them in detail by multicolor flow cytometry, perform in vitro immune cell cultures besides various other experiments. Students will analyze DNA for various reasons.

Our research aims to identify the molecular components of integration between organelle stress responses that are in play in obesity and diabetes at the cellular and organismic levels.

The research assistants will be invited to participate in all aspects of psychological research relating to the organization of voluntary action. We are primarily interested in how individuals select their responses as they perform one or more tasks. Research assistants will run human participants in 45-minute experiments and engage in any other aspects of the research that interests them, including experimental design, programming the experiments and data analysis.